12. The Representative from FAO informed the Committee of the organizations' technical assistance activities that had been implemented in the region over the previous two years. This assistance covered
13. The Committee was also informed of the regional activities that had been implemented. It was also pointed out that two new regional projects to provide training and enhance capacities in food quality and safety, primarily in West Africa, would be implemented over the next two years.
14. The WHO Representative presented the activities of WHO and noted that the World Health Assembly Resolution on food safety included several recommendations to Member States, including the need to allocate sufficient resources for food safety programmes. In addition, WHO undertook activities in several technical areas, including microbiological risk assessment, antimicrobial resistance, HACCP and food contamination monitoring.
15. Regarding regional activities, the WHO Representative noted that WHO efforts in Africa were being expanded and that two additional staff have been appointed, namely Mrs Elizabeth Morfaw, Regional Food Safety Focal Point and Dr Paul Tia, Technical Adviser for Environmental Risk Assessment.
16. The Representative of FAO brought the Committees' attention to the joint FAO/WHO activities on risk assessment of microbiological hazards in foods and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Foods Derived from Biotechnology.
17. The Committee expressed its appreciation to FAO and WHO for their work in the African region, particularly for assistance in strengthening Codex Contact Points, the establishment and strengthening of National Codex Committees and the implementation of regional training courses. However the need for further training was emphasized.
18. A number of delegations informed the Committee of the problems regarding dissemination of information and the need for improvement in this area was highlighted.
